Darkness, Cover Me Again
by ravenous.bunny
Summary: Miyuki and Riku, a few years after the events of "There's a Light In the Attic" occur, encounter a new challenge regarding their past and the Realm of Darkness they tried to leave behind. (Riku/OC)
1. Chapter 1

I pressed the ruler against the wall, marking with a pencil the places I'd drive in the nail. Finally, my parents' house was restored. Sure, the siding needed a new coat of paint, but so did everything else on Destiny Islands. When I mentioned it to Kairi, she even said she was going to get Selphie to give _us_ a new coat of paint. A make-over from Selphie was a frightening concept, but I found a polite way to bow out.

"And the final touch," I said to myself, hanging the portrait on the wall. Dad's artistry deserved to be displayed; one of the portraits he'd done of me, Mom, and himself now hung on the living room wall.

It took a few weeks of cleaning all day, every day, but the house was patched up quite nicely. No one used water or electricity in it – paying for that for the house would be a waste of munny, since I lived in Riku's family's mansion – so essentially it was for me to wander around and feel nostalgia in. A lack of crime in this sleepy world meant no one would break in, and my constant sparring with Riku meant I wasn't exactly helpless to defending the place if someone happened to defile it.

Although, I had to wonder if it was the goody-two-shoes reputation of the town, or the aura about the house, that kept it intruder-free. It wasn't like darkness, really, but more like... an electricity, a tangible tension in the air, as though it were charged with unease. Every day, stranger things happened: a door slammed shut without any wind, something brushed against me when I was alone in the room, I heard the floorboards creaking upstairs when no one else was present. Riku hadn't visited my parents' house once, for multiple reasons, and wouldn't believe me when I said weird things were happening.

I straightened the portrait on the wall and had just stepped back to admire it when I heard a man whisper behind me, "Miyuki, please."

I whipped around to see nothing, but was poised for defense, eyes darting around the room. There were some heartless that could turn invisible; some heartless could mimic language. "What do you want?" I demanded. No reply.

Slowly, I moved towards the door, waiting for a reaction, some kind of assault, and getting none.

"God dammit," I whispered, ripping open the door and bolting down the street.

###

When I finally reached Riku's beach house, I was so out of breath from running that I couldn't yell for him. I stumbled into the kitchen, in and out of every living room or breakfast nook, and finally found him on the balcony of the master bedroom.

"You... asshole," I panted.

He was seated on the railing, his back slouched against the wall of the house, pebbles in hand for casting out into the sea. His white tshirt was now speckled with dirt and dust, his jeans hiding most of his feet, his hair hiding most of his face, the ponytail being too loose to hold each strand of hair. He turned his head towards me and his brow furrowed.

"Where's the fire?" he remarked.

"My... house," I hissed.

He leapt to his feet, pebbles scattering everywhere as he rushed towards the door. "Let's get Sora and the rest of them, we'll cast Blizzaga and—"

"Not a... _literal_ fire!" I grabbed his arm and rolled my eyes. "You... Let me get my... breath!" I doubled over while he peppered me with questions on why I'd make him think there was a fire and what could possibly be wrong. I stood up and crossed my arms. "It's haunted," I said.

He stared at me blankly. "Haunted."

"Haunted. The damn thing just whispered my name. I thought it was some Lurk Lizard with a yen for mimicry, but there were no eyes, no tongue, nothing hit me. Riku, it's getting worse."

"Miyuki, look, I know it's boring here, but you don't have to look for trouble." He reached for my hand. "_I'll_ be your tr—"

I stepped back. "You don't believe me? At all?"

He sighed. "It's Destiny Islands. Nothing happens here unless you make it happen."

"So I guess my intuition is suddenly moot? The gut feelings that saved your life on various occasions are suddenly useless? Wow, that is some amazing power this world has."

"Miyuki!"

I power-walked down to the kitchen, leaving him behind. I heard him slam the door of the balcony shut as I reached the kitchen downstairs, and started forking through the fridge. Leftover chinese, some lemonade, some pizza. I grabbed a slice from the box and sat on the counter, munching furiously.

He was too comfortable now, to believe in anything. Sometimes I wondered if he thought it was all just a dream – a pretend-game he and Sora played so often that it became reality, maybe. I looked at the rings on my right thumb, the one my Mom gave my Dad, the one Ansem found on the shores of the Realm of Darkness. I remembered it all too clearly for it to be anything other than reality.

Riku stood in the doorway of the kitchen, now, leaning against it, arms crossed, eyes trained on his shoes. "Miyuki," he began, but I cut him off.

"You just don't want to believe me, do you?" I took another bite of pizza.

He looked up at me in surprise. "...No. I guess not. Say you're right, and your house is haunted, whether by a ghost, or some kind of insane heartless... What would we do?"

"Kill it!" I said around a mouthful of food.

"No, I mean, what would that mean for the world? The darkness I brought here... If it's lingering, I..." He trailed off, shaking his head, eyes wandering away from mine. He sighed hopelessly. "It's been ten years since I opened that door, Miyuki. I thought we were done with this."

"We will be," I said, standing up and walking over to him, pizza in hand (and mouth). "We'll kill the heartless, get it to leave my house alone, and we'll be done."

###

His hand was sweaty as I led him up to the steps of the house, fingers entwined. "It's not gonna bite, Riku," I said, studying the worried look on his face.

"Look, maybe I shouldn't go in," he said, taking his hand from mine and backing away before even touching the first step.

"What? Why?"

"Just... Look at me, do I look like I'm ready for this?"

"For what? It's just my house and a heartless, maybe. Something we've already killed countless times before, probably."

He swallowed. "It's your _family_."

It dawned on me, then – all the excuses he'd made for not coming to the house before, it was really just because he wasn't ready to face it. This place was a reminder of what I loved, but for him, it was a reminder of mistakes.

"I know," I said. "My family, that you're part of. My past isn't for shaming you, Riku, it's for remembering my roots."

He nodded. "I just wish I... hadn't..."

I took his hand and squeezed it. "Wishing's nothing more than complaining," I said, backing into the house, and he followed.

Those words – a sentiment of Ansem's that he shared with me that night in the Realm of Darkness – echoed in my mind over and over as we walked into the living room. My parents may not have had the chance to give me the advice I needed along the way, but plenty of others did. Ansem, Cid, Squall, Yuffie, Aerith... Riku.

I watched him slowly make his way around the room, examining the walls, ceiling, floor, furniture. He halted at the portrait I just hung up, studying it a long moment. I watched his mouth open slightly, inaudible words slipping out. His eyes fell, and he went to rub the back of his neck – but jumped and whipped around to gaze at me in shock.

"How'd you do that?" he demanded.

"Do what?"

"Whisper in my ear like that, from over there?"

"I didn't."

He looked around. "Who's there?"

The pencil tumbled off of the couch and onto the floor, and we watched it roll to hit the toe of Riku's shoe. We waited for it to do something else, but nothing happened; we looked at one another.

"We're staying here until it reveals itself," Riku said.

"Damn straight, we are," I said. "It's about time you helped me with this."

###

"No beach, no view," Riku sighed, staring out the bedroom window, back turned to me. "Why would you get this house?"

"Some of us can't afford a big-ass mansion," I remarked, sitting on the bed, legs crossed. My hair was finally long enough to wind into a braid, a process I worked on now.

"Well, it's about time you got a job," he said, looking very seriously at me.

I snorted. "We had this conversation. I'm not nice enough to be a hooker and you're not fashionable enough to be a pimp."

He quirked an eyebrow, walking to the edge of the bed. "Guess I'll have to keep being your sugar-daddy."

"Fuck you," I laughed. "I worked hard for the balance I have in my account right now."

"That's right." He leaned close, hands resting on my waist. "And we're all very impressed."

I rolled my eyes and leaned back, staring him in the eye. "We're waiting for a heartless," I said.

"A heartless that probably won't show."

"Sure, he'll attack us invisibly."

He sighed and flopped beside me onto the bed. "Fine, we'll go right to sleep..."

I turned to say something, but he was curled up with a pillow, looking passed out already. I smiled and curled up beside him, my back to his. "Goodnight," I whispered. He grunted in response, which left a smile on my face as I drifted off.

_I swim to the surface of the sea, taking a deep breath and wiping my eyes to see the light of a full moon that seemed unnaturally close. I swim backwards towards the shore, my eyes trained on the moon. Something familiar about this place... so familiar..._

_Riku's voice _just_ reaches my ears. "Light."_

_"The door to light," Sora muses._

_I turn and wade through the water, reaching dry land, scanning the brush and thorns and sand for any sign of my friends. Nothing. Nothing, but..._

_My bare foot hits something smooth and cool, and I step back to see my father's ring resting in the sand, waiting for me. I pick it up and feel a warmth envelop me – no, overtake me. I fall backwards onto the water, skidding across it, like it's frozen into ice, but an inch of water has melted on top, and I've been pushed across it._

_Water fills my ears. The light becomes too bright, and I can't tell whether or not my eyes are closed. My limbs feel weak. My pulse is slowing, slowing, fading..._

_"It is I."_

_"Who?"_

_"Ansem. Please understand that I have not called you here out of some whim. This task is not something I wish to burden any friend of mine with, but you are the only ones capable, I believe." _

_"Ansem. I thought you died?"_

_"So did I. I shattered into fragments of light, Miyuki. Not every fragment found its way to the World of Light's resting place. I cannot yet rest."_

_"So... _You're_ haunting my house?"_

_"Unintentionally. I believe my light particles manifested in the nearest familiar body of light, and are reacting to being parted from other light particles."_

_"What do you need me to do?"_

_There was a soft chuckle. "Familiarity. Yes. You are so reliably bent on active problem-solving."_

_I feel it, now; the comfort of being with someone wiser than myself, someone who knows it'll be all right._

_"Miyuki, I can feel the darkness eating away at me. I fear it is feeding off of my heart to create something larger, more powerful. Something unusual has occurred, and I cannot deter catastrophe on my own."_

_"Go to the Realm of Darkness?"_

_"Go. Find my shards of light. Destroy them, if necessary."_

_"What would happen to you?"_

_"Something far more fortunate than if the darkness continues to chip away at me. Go. Take Riku." He chuckles again. "You two always—"_

I start awake to see Riku sitting up, one arm poised over me defensively. There's nothing in the room with us, but sweat beads are forming on his pallid skin.

"Riku?" I lay my hand on his forearm, and he snaps to attention, looking from me, to the wall across from us, back and forth. "Are you okay?"

"He was there," he whispered.

"Who?"

"Ansem." He swallowed. "I... Was I asleep? Does he... really...?"

I wrapped my hand around his and took a deep breath. "We need to sleep. He'll let us be, now."

"What?"

I laid back down, tugging him down with me by his arm. "Just sleep for now. He'll let us decide in the morning."

Confused, but too tired to argue, Riku laid beside me, forehead against mine, our hands clutching one another.

_You better know what you're talking about, Ansem_, I thought. _I don't go running after just anyone._

* * *

**Dear Reader,  
Hello again! It's been quite a while, and I can't say I've played the new Kingdom Hearts games. You could call it being a fake fan, but I prefer to call myself a purist. ...Not really, though. I'm just lazy.  
This story will not follow any game, because it is literally just something for me to blow off steam and maybe entertain some readers.  
If you haven't read "There's a Light In the Attic," you probably want to do so. Or not. I'm a writer, not a cop.  
Have a great day, and I hope you aren't too disappointed in this story.  
Sincerely,  
Ravenous Bunny  
**


	2. Preparations

It was before dawn when I woke up again, and I sat up against the headboard, staring out the window as I waited for Riku to awake. Hands clasped in my lap, braid over one shoulder, I sat and waited and thought.

Ansem was being used, just like Riku had been... just like I had been. Something told me there weren't just coincidental heartless consuming the shards of light his spirit became; it was too unusual, too convenient. His heart and mind were too strong for his spirit to become diverted so easily. Xehanort had retreated so quickly when I confronted him about Aoki. What were the odds that he...?

Riku flopped over to face me, opening one eye hesitantly to gaze up at me.

"Morning," I said.

"You sleep?" he grumbled.

"A little. You dream about Ansem?"

He sighed and nodded. "Fucking Ansem."

I shifted uncomfortably. "You were fucking him?"

"_What_?" He pushed himself up, sitting with his legs tucked under him. "No. I was complaining about him."

"Oh. Sorry. It's early." I brushed his bangs to one side so I could see his face more easily. A wrinkled pillowcase had left an imprint on his face, crust lining his tired eyes. Tired, in more way than one. "You don't have to go," I said.

He snorted. "Of course I don't."

"I mean it. You're so tired of this, anyone could tell."

He stared at me indignantly. "You think I can't do it."

"Well, you're old and crotchety now, Grandpa," I said with great seriousness. "I don't want you breaking a hip out there."

He glared at me. "I'm going to throttle you, one of these days. No – I'll go to the Realm of Darkness, fix Ansem's problem, _then_ throttle you. So you see just how well my hips work."

I arched an eyebrow. "Oh, your hips work, all right."

He wiped his face in exasperation. "We need to have a talk about when it's all right to turn my words into euphemisms."

"Okay: It is always all right to turn your words into euphemisms. There, we talked. Now about the Realm of Darkness."

Riku stood up and walked to the window, surveying the sunrise, rubbing the back of his neck. "I know how to get there," he said quietly, almost in shame.

"You'd better, or I'm screwed." He turned, contempt in his eyes. "Yes, 'I.' Have you thought about what being there will do to you?"

"This isn't about my age."

I rolled my eyes and got up, walking over to him. "No, it's about the darkness in our hearts. How's it going to react?"

"Who knows?"

"Shouldn't _we_?"

"Miyuki, we never know what darkness is going to do. We're just going to have to stay calm about it."

"Have you even _thought_ about your keyblade in the past five years?"

He stiffened, the contempt in his eyes growing. I hadn't seen the keyblade in years, and neither had he. He'd need it to unlock the door to the Realm of Darkness. "Don't patronize me," he snapped.

"I'm not. It's a question. You never touch this subject, Riku. You even stopped casting magic when we spar."

"You must really want to go alone, huh?" he demanded.

"I'm not trying to get rid of you, I'm trying to make sure my partner doesn't leave me hanging when the rubber meets the road. I love you, but when we're in there, we are _in there_. They're going to bring up your past over and over and over and try to split us apart and drive us insane."

"Yes, I can summon my keyblade," he hissed. "You think I'm going to leave you hanging? When was the last time that happened?"

"You have been avoiding this house like the plague since we got back, Riku, and you almost left me on my own to deal with whatever it was that was infesting the place!"

"It was just Ansem! His spirit was trying to contact you, and—"

"We didn't know that. What if it _was_ a heartless? And I was caught off my guard and couldn't make it because _you_ were afraid of owning up to what you did?"

Riku clenched his hand into a fist and raised it to eye level, gritting his teeth. "I swear to God—"

"I'm not going to the Realm of Darkness with you unless I have your promise that you're not going to be afraid of what you did."

"I'm not afraid, I _hate_ myself!" he shouted, pointing at himself. I stepped back, suddenly feeling guilty for prodding him so much. "It's a nightmare. Every night, Miyuki, every night, I know I'm in love with someone I victimized. It's wrong." He held his hand out and in a swarm of black mist, Soul Eater appeared. "This?" He held it up. "This wrecked everything I ever wanted. Everything." He threw it across the room and walked out.

I jumped when I heard the front door slam shut, and inhaled sharply. I hadn't realized I'd been holding my breath, but it was all too clear to me now as I struggled to catch my breath, fighting back tears. We would never make it in the Realm of Darkness; not with him so vulnerable, and me vulnerable by extension.

I walked over to the Soul Eater and picked it up, examining it. "You're what he's afraid of," I whispered. It vanished into that same black mist. "The power to destroy."

###

I sat on the edge of the raft, radio in hand, laughing at Yuffie as fish nibbled on my toes.

"And this girl is totally into him, and Squall says," she lowered her voice dramatically, "'The name is _Leon_,' and I look at this girl, and I'm like, 'Sometimes I forget his name in bed and he gets even snippier. Boys, right?'"

"How are you still alive?" I chuckled.

"I dunno! He must pity me, 'cause I should've died a long time ago, just from his glare."

I sighed, staring at the device Cid sent me. It was bright red and yellow, like a toddler's toy; clearly designed by Cid. The signal it sent out and picked up was unique from all other radio waves, and extended to Hollow Bastion. Merlin had teleported it here to make communication available, just in case we ever needed them, or vice versa.

"You sound sad," Yuffie said.

"No, I'm just..." I looked around. "I'm worried about Riku."

"Worried? How come?"

"We..." I ran a hand over my face. "We have to help a friend, but it's bringing up the past, and..."

"Who? Is it Sora?" She huffed. "Sora should know better than to bring that up round Riku. They're best friends, aren't they?"

"It's not Sora."

"Who, then?"

"...You won't freak out when I say this?" There was silence. "It's Ansem."

"...But he's d—"

"He isn't. He hasn't passed on yet, Yuffie. His heart is under attack."

"Oh. What are you going to do?"

"Go to the Realm of Darkness and fight back for him. Except Riku is..."

"Afraid?"

"Yeah," I sighed. "He'd have to have my back in there, and I don't know if he would. And every minute I sit here deliberating is one more minute Ansem is in danger. And I don't know if—"

"Miyuki, calm down. You've been through worse, haven't you?"

I swallowed. Worse than the Realm of Darkness? Worse than watching Riku and Sora walk away, oblivious to my presence, oblivious to the searing pain? Worse than Xehanort almost crushing me, but being too keyed up over his old flame to finish the job? The nightmares I had were enough to make a dull day seem like paradise.

But this time was different. This wasn't for me. This was for Ansem. And now that I knew the weak spot in Xehanort's armor...

"I have been through worse," I said quietly, nodding.

"You know yourself better than anyone," Yuffie said brightly. "Prob'ly know Riku better than he knows himself, too! You know what you two can handle."

I could hear her smile in her voice, and nodded slowly. "Yeah... Yeah, I do. Yuffie, can you do me a favor?"

"Anything!"

"If I call you, and I'm in trouble, promise not to come to the Realm of Darkness?"

There was another pause. "But—"

"Promise me."

"But if you're in trouble and—"

"Yuffie, _promise_ me. I know what I'm doing. You _have_ to stay in the World of Light. Promise?"

"Miyuki..."

"_Please_. I can't do this unless you promise."

"I... Yeah. Alright. I promise."

"Thank you."

That was all I needed. I wasn't going to have the lives of my friends jeopardized any more than was necessary – including Riku's.

###

Riku heard me open the door to the balcony, and immediately said, "Don't wanna talk." Glass of whiskey in hand, legs hanging over the railing he perched on, he glared at the ocean, as if it embodied all the things he hated about his life.

"Brooding again. I should've guessed," I teased.

"It's what I do best," he murmured.

I sat next to him, facing the opposite direction, leaning back a bit to see his face. He looked away.

"I don't want you to die," I said.

He snorted. "No?"

"Trust me. If I wanted you dead, I'd figure out a way."

"In your dreams."

I smirked. "There's that competitive side I know and love." I reached over and tucked his hair behind his ear. "Riku... What would I do without you?"

"Lose a lot of emotional baggage."

I pinched his arm. "Is that how you spent our time here? Hating yourself?"

"It's unforgivable. What I did is unforgivable."

"Then how did I forgive you?"

"Your judgment is impaired."

"Thanks a lot." I sighed and stood, giving up on helping him tonight. "Ansem's running out of time."

"I know."

I walked to the door and opened it, pausing before I stepped inside. "Riku..." I glanced over my shoulder at him, "maybe the impaired judgment of someone who cares, is more helpful – and useful – and _fair_ – than a crusade for some skewed version of 'justice.' If it's justice you're looking for, the Realm of Darkness isn't where you need to be."

"And maybe justice is the only thing that'll keep our heads on straight when we're in there." He threw back the last of the whiskey and threw his legs over the other side of the railing, turning to me. "Ready to go?"

"But—"

"Check the bed."

There laid a backpack and my messenger bag – I turned on the bedroom light and peeked inside. Tens upon tens of energy and protein bars. And water. And bandages. I looked at Riku. "Fucking protein bars _again_?"

"We'll have Ansem cook up some eggs and bacon when we put him back together."


End file.
